Pay here in Vancouver is definitely below the bay area or Seattle. As for doing exciting things, I guess that depends what you find exciting. Several big tech companies have decent sized offices here, Microsoft and Amazon being the most visible examples. There's a lot of games companies, EA being by far the biggest but there are numerous smaller studios. There's quite a few tiny AR / VR startups but they're mostly operating on shoestring budgets. There's quite a few people like me working remote with US companies which can be a good option if you can get it.

If AR / VR is something that interests you, come to one of the events at the Cube and you'll be able to meet some of the companies in that space.